Catcher

'The Catcher' is a low budget and obscure SOV baseball themed slasher flick from the late 90's that features an interesting concept, some memorable death scenes and a fantastic set location namely the baseball stadium that's perfect for a sports themed slasher flick. But despite a few fun moments and a handful of moments that show ambition, this movie falls rather flat due to its poor storytelling and lacklustre execution which makes this a wasted opportunity.

The Plot = Beginning in 1981 where a young baseball player named Johnny (Fred Meyers) murders his cruel and demanding father (Joe Estevez). Then 17 years later he's released from the local insane asylum and returns to the baseball stadium to begin a killing spree.

For a low budget direct to video flick the movie does looks quite decent with the production having a polished look to it with the stadium itself having a cool eerie vibe to it and gives off a sense of atmospheric dread. The use of dolly tracks and steady cams are handled quite well and there were a couple of inventive kill scenes. The biggest issue that I have with this is the narrative which felt like it was missing a lot of key elements especially when it comes to connecting the past with the present, it felt like it needed more fleshing out and the characters were way too paper thin and weren't given much to do apart from wonder around the dark and empty hallways. I know that this is a cheap slasher flick and not to go into this expecting something fantastic, but the lazy writing and lack of suspense really lets this one down.

The performances for the most part range from bad to unmemorable but there were a couple of standouts such as David Heavener who gives a noteworthy performance as Walker and Monique Parent adds a touch of class as the female lead Terry and gives an okay performance. Joe Estevez was really hammy in his small screen time and just comes off as an annoyance.

Overall 'The Catcher' does feature some fun moments and a brisk running time, but on the whole it's a pretty weak effort.

The 1990s weren't exactly the best and most productive years for the slasher-horror genre, especially when compared to the 80s, and then halfway through the decade there came a film - Wes Craven's "Scream" - that changed everything for good. This is probably one of the reasons (next to being a dud...) why "The Catcher" mercilessly ended up in total oblivion. It was made in 1998, and thus at least ten years overdue. If this little low-budget flick had came out in the mid-80s, more or less simultaneously with other sport-themed slashers ("Olympic Nightmare", "Killer Workout", "Iced", "Night Game", ...) it * might * had gathered a modest cult following (but probably not).

"The Catcher" opens with the biggest cliché imaginable. A brute and obsessive father absolutely wants his 12-year-old son to be good in baseball, so he yells and throws the ball increasingly harder until Junior snaps and beats daddy to death with his bat. Seventeen years later, the lazy and rebellious catcher Walker is about to kicked out of his team by the stern new manager Terry Mitchell. On the night of his forced exit, a sadist killer in a catcher-outfit starts butchering everyone still present in the stadium.

The script wants to be clever and mislead you the entire with regards to the killer's identity. Again, though, if you know your 80s slasher-stuff, you will not be tricked by any of the red herrings. Several of the kills are quite brutal, bloody, and imaginative, but there seemingly wasn't enough money left for good make-up effects and steady camerawork. The grotesque and theatrical finale on the field is cool and dumb at the same time. Pity that "The Catcher" isn't slightly better, but still it's worth a peek if you enjoy slashers (moreover because it lasts even less than 80 minutes).

This movie was actually pretty cool. It's got a killer baseball catcher going around killing people at a baseball stadium. It is low budget, but has some pretty original death scenes and a big twist near the end. The movie is very cheap too; I bought it online for only $1 new! It's probably the best $1 I've ever spent online too. Joe Estevez as the Father was my favorite character in the movie. He was one mean dad in this movie; no wonder his kid had problems and went nuts. I like the fact that he comes back as a ghost in the movie too. The movie is pretty low budget though and the only extras you get are a few trailers from Dead Alive's other films. There website is apparently gone now, so that's not a good sign. It's worth seeing at least once, I'd say. It's not for everyone though, my sister hated the movie, but I enjoyed it for what it was.

"The Catcher" is a DTV slasher that few people have heard of or seen. The premise sounds intriguing, as slasher films have been set in a plethora of creative locations from bowling alleys to supermarkets to cruise ships, but this is the first and only one that I know of that is set in a baseball stadium. However, having a creative location does not equate to a great film, and the filmmakers here really failed to do anything but create a lazy, incompetent film that offers nothing new or original to the genre.

At the beginning of the movie we get a kid who murders his verbally abusive father with a baseball bat during one of their practices. Well, then we flash forward to a few years to a the last game of the season at a minor league baseball stadium. The catcher, a character named Davey Walker, finds out his contract isn't getting renewed for the following year, and, as one one expect, starts the murder of several players who have decided to stay in the stadium for one reason or another after the game. This film set-up a lot of creative death scenes, mainly involving a baseball bat, but they were done off screen with very little blood or gore. Now, I don't like excessive gore, but with a movie like this where plot isn't a priority, I think that it should be thrown in as a redeeming quality.

The isolated setting of the baseball stadium is effective enough; the shots of the dark corridors and empty locker rooms are uneasy, but used very minimally. A stronger director would have utilized this setting to create suspense and tension, but it is virtually wasted here.

Instead, with this we get mediocre acting and a very rushed, confusing ending. I mean, who WAS the killer after all?? My suggestion, avoid this one. There is a reason you have never heard of it.

My Grade: F

I rented this movie the other night and I was totally disappointed

I was hoping it would be a horror comedy (along the lines of Uncle Sam & Jack Frost), but it turned out to take itself too seriously

I hate movies which have a silly premise and goofy death scenes and STILL try and scare ya!

It has to be done right and The Catcher just wasn't

It was a very boring movie, with really rubbishy effects.

the only saving grace was the baseball bat up the butt scene (made me laugh)

and the fact that it starred the gorgeous Monique Parent

Avoid at all costs